Paperback or ebooks?

[Robert Zwilling]

The best reason to keep a pile of books handy is the worst thing about the kindle reader is that when the battery runs down you're not going to read anything on it for awhile.

 

[Vertigo]

The best reason to keep a pile of books handy is the worst thing about the kindle reader is that when the battery runs down you're not going to read anything on it for awhile.

Not so, it's perfectly easy to read with it plugged in.

 

[Overread]

Yep provided you've a long cable to plug into it you can easily read whilst it charges itself up. The only time I see people have serious power problems with them (and its not a broken battery) is when they leave the wi-fi on. Turning that off (or enabling airplane mode as Amazon calls it in Kindle e-readers) saves you a LOT of power. Plus you don't need it on all the time anyway. Heck I tend to only turn mine on when buying a book.

 

[Vertigo]

Yep provided you've a long cable to plug into it you can easily read whilst it charges itself up. The only time I see people have serious power problems with them (and its not a broken battery) is when they leave the wi-fi on. Turning that off (or enabling airplane mode as Amazon calls it in Kindle e-readers) saves you a LOT of power. Plus you don't need it on all the time anyway. Heck I tend to only turn mine on when buying a book.

As I buy onto my computer and then side load I don't even turn it on for that. I occasionally turn it on so it can do any updates.

 

[Steve Harrison]

At the risk of turning this into a version of Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch, I read for one to two hours every day and only have to charge my Kobo once a month.

 

[Vladd67]

At the risk of turning this into a version of Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch, I read for one to two hours every day and only have to charge my Kobo once a month.

I think you mean At last the 1948 show, not Monty Python.

 

[Steve Harrison]

I think you mean At last the 1948 show, not Monty Python.

Interesting. I only know the Python team's version from Live form the Hollywood Bowl and didn't know it was from the earlier show.

For some reason I never saw '1948' and was a Do Not Adjust Your Set boy prior to Python.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I got a color kindle several years ago which could be a real live prop from Monty Python. When it goes dead, it is dead for awhile, I plug in a power adapter, better than the one that came with it, and all I get is the outline of a battery with a red bar at the bottom of it and nothing else happens, like a dead parrot nailed to the perch. It then takes long enough to get up enough power to power the screen that I just put it down and forget about it. Once it is charged it lasts a good amount of time but I don't constantly make sure it never goes down all the way because I don't use it often enough. Too many times it is dead when I pick it up. I have the kindle reader in my computer but only very rarely read books out of it.

 

[Vertigo]

I got a color kindle several years ago which could be a real live prop from Monty Python. When it goes dead, it is dead for awhile, I plug in a power adapter, better than the one that came with it, and all I get is the outline of a battery with a red bar at the bottom of it and nothing else happens, like a dead parrot nailed to the perch. It then takes long enough to get up enough power to power the screen that I just put it down and forget about it. Once it is charged it lasts a good amount of time but I don't constantly make sure it never goes down all the way because I don't use it often enough. Too many times it is dead when I pick it up. I have the kindle reader in my computer but only very rarely read books out of it.

If it's colour then it's not a true eReader. I'd guess it's a Kindle Fire which is more tablet than eReader. In particular the screen emits light, horribly tiring for the eyes and eats batteries, whereas a true eReader is eInk which is reflective in operation; easy on the eyes and very low battery usage.

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

If it's colour then it's not a true eReader. I'd guess it's a Kindle Fire which is more tablet than eReader. In particular the screen emits light, horribly tiring for the eyes and eats batteries, whereas a true eReader is eInk which is reflective in operation; easy on the eyes and very low battery usage.

I had an eInk Kindle for a good while. I then switched to a Fire and find it much, much more pleasant to read (and much easier to use) than my original one. To not tire your eyes, it's best to switch the text to white on black.

 

[soulsinging]

I got a color kindle several years ago which could be a real live prop from Monty Python. When it goes dead, it is dead for awhile, I plug in a power adapter, better than the one that came with it, and all I get is the outline of a battery with a red bar at the bottom of it and nothing else happens, like a dead parrot nailed to the perch. It then takes long enough to get up enough power to power the screen that I just put it down and forget about it. Once it is charged it lasts a good amount of time but I don't constantly make sure it never goes down all the way because I don't use it often enough. Too many times it is dead when I pick it up. I have the kindle reader in my computer but only very rarely read books out of it.

What adapter do you use? I've read the kindle only works well with the amazon charger (sold separately), which sounds about right for Bezos.

I am torn. I actually love my kindle, it's compact and convenient, and I can easily read in the dark and one-handed (both necessary for sleepless nights with a young child). On the other hand, I don't love that you don't own the book and it seems all too easy for a monolithic publisher to tinker with text and perhaps one day launch full-scale censorship.

Then again, I love bookstores, especially used ones, and the look smell and feel of a quality paperback. You own it forever and the text will always say what it said your first time reading it. On the downside, storage is a pain (to say nothing of moving) and I know they are indulgent from an environmental standpoint.

Me buying a kindle shocked my family, given how late I was to the smartphone game, but I take mine everywhere. Now that I have a house though and am learning more about the dark side of Amazon, I'm considering starting to rebuild a library...

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

I'm pretty sure my Fires came with chargers. But I don't see any difference between the ones they came with and other generic chargers we have lying around the house.

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

The only time I've seen a real difference in charging speed has been with my new Motorola phone, which charges ridiculously fast with its native charger.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

What adapter do you use?

I just use whatever is handy. The best one I have is rated at 550 ma.

The ability to change online material always makes me think of 1984.

 

[Parson]

I have lately gone for audiobooks rather than ebooks. I carry my tablet from room to room while I do the housework, or into the garden. I am also currently working my way through a number of cross stitch kits. Listening to a book is easier than trying to watch TV at the same time lol. Still like an actual book, either paperback or hardback for the winter time, when I can curl up with a book on a cold afternoon without feeling guilty

Listening is great. I'd suggest downloading to your phone (provided you have a smart phone) then there's nothing to carry. It's always in my pocket and if I use my blue tooth headphones there's no wire to foul either.

And if one considers adding multimedia content - imagine reading a Star Trek novel which uses an LCARS interface, or a Harry Potter book with moving illustrations!

I have both kindle and a Kindle Fire and I really prefer the Fire. I read a book recently The Hangman's Daughter on my Fire and it had illustrations that moved. I thought I'd hate it, but found I actually quite enjoyed it.

 

[CupofJoe]

Hardbacks all the way.
I've tried half a dozen e-readers, kindles, kobos etc and found nothing I can read from for more that half an hour.
That said when on holiday I do stuff a few ebooks on my tablet for emergencies.

 

[Cathbad]

After Straub and King published The Talisman, my days of purchasing hardcovers was over - they became far too expensive! It was paperbacks for me, until the stroke!

 

[Danny McG]

The handy thing about books, especially ones about...ooh, let's say elves....are you can happily shove one under a wobbly table leg and then forget about it

 

[Vertigo]

What adapter do you use? I've read the kindle only works well with the amazon charger (sold separately), which sounds about right for Bezos.

I am torn. I actually love my kindle, it's compact and convenient, and I can easily read in the dark and one-handed (both necessary for sleepless nights with a young child). On the other hand, I don't love that you don't own the book and it seems all too easy for a monolithic publisher to tinker with text and perhaps one day launch full-scale censorship.

Then again, I love bookstores, especially used ones, and the look smell and feel of a quality paperback. You own it forever and the text will always say what it said your first time reading it. On the downside, storage is a pain (to say nothing of moving) and I know they are indulgent from an environmental standpoint.

Me buying a kindle shocked my family, given how late I was to the smartphone game, but I take mine everywhere. Now that I have a house though and am learning more about the dark side of Amazon, I'm considering starting to rebuild a library...

I share your concerns about the dark side of Amazon and always have. I've never bought a Kindle but instead bought a Sony some ten years ago when their first touchscreen came out (the PRS 650). That Sony recently died and, whilst I was sorely tempted by the convenience of getting a Kindle, I didn't and instead bought a Kobo.

Regarding them changing text etc. The solution here is very simple, never download directly to your ereader. Instead download to your computer (install Kindle 4 PC and Adobe Digital Editions on it) and then sideload onto your reader. If you install the excellent and free ebook database Calibre this is incredibly easy to do and I never need to re-download a, possibly 'edited', ebook. (And incidentally don't need to trust the vendor to look after my investment for me).

 

[Cathbad]

The handy thing about books, especially ones about...ooh, let's say elves....are you can happily shove one under a wobbly table leg and then forget about it

grrr